Jair Bolsonaro convicted of coup plotting in Brazil

After finding him guilty of attempted coup and other crimes, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, by a vote of 4 to 1, sentenced former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro and his closest associates on Thursday, September 11, to an initial sentence of 27 years and 3 months in prison.

Brazil's highest court found them guilty of the attempted coup on January 8, 2023, a week after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the headquarters of the three branches of government in Brasilia. 

The First Chamber of the Supreme Court has ruled that Bolsonaro committed five crimes, including attempting a coup after losing the 2022 elections, attempting to abolish the rule of law, and leading a criminal organization to cling to power. Seven of his closest associates, including former ministers and military leaders, were also found guilty.

The deciding vote was cast by Carmen Lúcia Antunes Rocha, the only woman on the high court. The judge found it proven that “a group composed of key government figures and led by Jair Bolsonaro carried out a progressive plan to attack democratic institutions with the aim of undermining the peaceful transfer of power and weakening the other branches of government, especially the judiciary.” After noting that Brazil returned to democracy 40 years ago, the judge emphasized that “the facts described have not, in essence, been denied” by the defendants.

In turn, the investigating judge, Alexandre de Moraes, voted to convict Bolsonaro on all counts because, he said, the evidence shows that the former president recruited, as part of “an authoritarian power project,” men he trusted implicitly to orchestrate a plan that would allow him to remain in power despite the 2022 electoral defeat. These actions, according to De Moraes, included discrediting the electoral system, threatening the judiciary, alleging nonexistent fraud, plotting the assassination of top state officials, drafting a plan to annul the elections, and attempting to recruit the top brass of the Armed Forces to join the plot.

The condemnation of those who attempted a coup in Brazil in 2022 is a clear reaffirmation of democratic values ​​and a clear triumph of justice over impunity, in line with what CLACSO has promoted since its founding 58 years ago, and a breath of hope for the peoples of Our America in times of facing the onslaught of the extreme right and coup attempts in many countries of our region.